In Chapter 3, Zander discussed how the idea of "giving an A" represents a shift in attitude that transforms everything into a world with possibilities. This shift allows students to realize for themselves what is possible. In a lecture I listened to this week (as well as videotaped and edited), Tony Wagner speaks at length about the role of curiosity and imagination that needs to be nurtured. I completely agree with this line of thinking and I can connect this idea to Zander's notion of "giving an A." In order for students to be able to be intellectually curious and motivated to be creative, they need to learn how to give themselves an A first so they are free from the weight of responsibility that is expected in the normal course of the school day. Giving students a A allows them to fail and then try again.
Failure is just as much a part of learning as succeeding. In fact, trying and failing is usually much better than getting it "right" the first time, because it allows us to re-think about what went wrong and all the processes that contributed to the failure so that we can do better and succeed. When we reduce education to a number on a standardized test than we lose all of the depth and value of what an education is supposed to afford us. Learning and education is failing forward.
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